


you'll keep on rising until the sky knows your name

by prettymalfoy



Series: single parent peter parker [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen, Parent Peter Parker, Peter Parker Has a Family, Single Parent Peter Parker, Teen Peter Parker, Teen parent, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:29:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28585011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettymalfoy/pseuds/prettymalfoy
Summary: “Mr Stark, it’s a super nice offer, but you don’t want a three-year-old running around your fancy tower for a week,”“Sure, I do. Sucks that I have to have an ungrateful seventeen-year-old as well, but I guess you’re a package deal,”---Or, Peter is a single father and the Avengers find out.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: single parent peter parker [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2088966
Comments: 9
Kudos: 499





	you'll keep on rising until the sky knows your name

She knows it’s only a week, and that Peter is perfectly capable of looking after himself and Leia, has been since he was fourteen and she was a newborn, but a week can be a long time. That’s the excuse she uses when she calls Tony, asking if he would be okay with them both staying at the tower for as long as she is working across the state. She’s grateful when Tony agrees immediately. Not that she ever had any doubt that he would; she knows Tony sees her nephew as a son, even if he stutters out a denial every time she teases him about it, and knows that he loves having Peter around the tower, and loves when he gets to spend time with Leia. So, with the opportunity of a whole week with them arises, she has no doubts that Tony would say yes.

  


Peter is in the middle of giving Leia a bath when Tony calls him. He answers as soon as he gets the bubbles off his hands.

“Pack your shit, kid,” Tony says, not waiting for Peter to say anything when the call connects. “You’re staying with me,” Peter sighs as Leia splashes the water in the tub.

“You’re on speaker, Mr Stark. And,” He scoffs lightly. “Yeah, right,” Tony doesn’t sound apologetic at all when he replies.

“Sorry. Anyway, I’m serious. Aunt Hottie agreed.”

“And what am I meant to do with Leia, Mr Stark? You know, my child, who-”

“Obviously, the invitation is extended to Leia,” Tony cuts him off, and Peter can almost hear the eye roll through the phone. “If I’m being honest, Pete, the invitation was mainly for her, anyway. I want to hang out with my best friend for a week, but I figured I’d be nice and invite her annoying brat of a father as well.” Tony snorts at the offended sound Peter lets out. “I’m very hospitable like that,”

“Gee, thanks Mr Stark. Your generosity astounds me.” He smiles when Leia giggles as he piles bubbles onto her head. “Mr Stark, it’s a super nice offer, but you don’t want a three-year-old running around your fancy tower for a week,”

“Sure, I do. Sucks that I have to have an ungrateful seventeen-year-old as well, but I guess you’re a package deal,” Tony teases, laughing when Peter groans.

“Really, Mr Stark,” Peter tries again. “Really nice offer, but you _really_ don’t want a toddler running through your house, crying and knocking things over and making a mess everywhere.”

“What, more of a mess than you make? Think she’s inherited your ability to make things explode with minimal effort?”

“I’m serious, Mr Stark,”

“So am I! She’s been around here before, kid. What’s the issue?”

“A few hours is a million miles away from a week. I don’t want to impose on you.”

“Hey, Leia,” Peter groans as Tony ignore him and turns his interrogation towards his child instead. “You wanna spend a week with your favourite Uncle Tony, don’t you?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Leia claps as she answers, causing water and bubbles to splash over the bathroom. Tony laughs over the speaker.

“You heard the lady, Parker.”

“You’re turning my daughter against me, Mr Stark,” Peter groans as he _hears_ Tony’s smirk. He does again when Tony gasps in mock offense.

“I would _never_! I cannot believe you would accuse me of such a thing. The _slander!_ ”

“Uh huh,” Peter replies drily. “C’mon, poppet. Out you get,” He picks Leia up out of the bath, smiling when she squeals slightly, and wraps her in a fluffy towel.

“Pack your shhi…. stuff,” Tony coughs. “Stuff. There will be a car out front in an hour,”

“Nice save. Listen, Mr Stark, are you really sure about this? You know how much stuff a toddler needs for a week? There will be stuff cluttering your entire place,” Tony just laughs again.

“Stop trying to get out of this, kid. Don’t worry about the necessities. I’ve got it covered. Just bring clothes and toys. Although, there’s plenty of those here as well. You know that. Just bring whatever she wants,” Neither of them speak for a few beats, and then Peter sighs.

“Fine. Leia, think about what toys you want to take to Mr Stark’s,”

“Good kid. See you in an hour,” Peter sighs again when the call disconnects.

“C’mon, then. Let’s get you dressed,”

* * *

It’s almost exactly an hour later that Peter hears the front door of his apartment open. It would have worried him, had he not known how excited Tony was to see Leia. He almost felt bad about trying to get out of staying at the tower, but he can’t shake the feeling that something bad might happen. He knows, better than most kids his age, how unpredictable children can be. Letting one loose in Tony Stark’s house just doesn’t sit right with him, somehow.

“C’mon, Leia,” Tony and Happy hear Peter groan as they walk through the apartment. “It’s raspberry jam! You said you _like_ raspberry jam!” Leia is giggling as she replies.

“Nu uh, Daddy,” Tony lets out a quiet laugh at the defeated sound Peter lets out.

“What _do_ you like, then, trouble?” Tony and Happy stand in the doorway of the kitchen, watching as Leia just smiles sweetly at Peter, shaking her head at every different food Peter names.

“Apples? Cheese? Pizza? Custard? Fish fingers?” Peter watches her, raising an eyebrow softly. “A monkey?” Leia just keeps smiling as she shakes her head again. “You’re not even listening, are you, pumpkin? A monkey is not a food,” He groans again when Leia just smiles at him, the smile on his own face betraying him. He takes half a piece of toast coated in raspberry jam and shoves it in his mouth.

Tony lets his and Happy’s presence be known by laughing loudly. He waltzes into the kitchen, ruffling Peter’s hair, grinning at the scowl that is sent his way. Leia’s face brightens up more when she sees Tony and looks up towards Happy.

“Unc’a Hap!” Happy smiles, small but genuine, and reaches out to let her grab at his hands.

“Good afternoon, Leia. I hope you’re not being a pain for Daddy,” The young girl shakes her head innocently up at Happy.

“Nah. You’re an angel, aren’t you, Leia?” Tony laughs as Peter rolls his eyes. “So, what do you want to eat, kiddo? If you could have anything in the whole world?” The other three in the room watch as Leia thinks for a few moments before she speaks.

“Pick’ on’ons!” Tony snorts and nods as Peter stands up and walks towards the fridge.

“Okay, you funky little weirdo,” Leia giggles as Peter whacks the back of Tony’s head on his way back from the fridge, jar of pickled onions in his hand.

“How many, princess?” Peter opens the jar, nodding and fishing out two when Leia holds up her fingers, placing them on her plate. “Eat up, then,”

“Pickled onions?” Happy asks as Peter puts the jar back in the fridge. Peter nods when he sits back down.

“Not the weirdest thing she likes,” He smiles up at his daughter. “Gotta keep these things stocked, Happy, gotta be prepped for everything. Haven’t I, kid?” Leia grins up at him when she finishes eating.

“Speaking of being prepared, you ready to go?” Tony asks, standing up and walking around the table.

“Sure. You got everything you want Leia?” Peter asks, taking the plate from in front of Leia and washing it quickly in the sink. He looks up when Leia doesn’t reply with more than a gentle hum. Her eyes are closing softly. “You have Bearbear?” She holds up a teddy from tucked up beside her. “Good, good. You can nap on the way, okay?” He smiles softly and nods up at Tony.

“Wonderful, let’s go then. Miss Leia, Mr Bearbear,” Tony bows down, much like someone would to for royalty. “Your carriage awaits,” He puts on a posh voice and picks Leia up, smiling when she tucks herself into his side. He doesn’t wait for Peter as he starts walking out the apartment. On his way through the door, he picks up smaller of the two backpacks sitting there, the one with Leia’s favourite cartoon characters on. Happy follows behind Tony, and Peter follows behind him, slower, picking up the other half piece of toast and holding it in his mouth. He picks up the other backpack as he walks through the door, locking it behind him.

“Took your time, underoos,” Tony says quietly when Peter enters the car a few minutes after him and Happy, swallowing the last of the toast and wiping the crumbs off his face. Leia is still in Tony’s arms, Bearbear tucked under her chin, a blanket wrapped loosely around her.

“Yeah. You sped off with my daughter, remember? Are you sure you don’t have, like, super speed or something?” Tony snorts but doesn’t reply. Leia shifts slightly under the blanket. “You know, all the parenting books I read before she was born? They all said that I should be sleeping when she is. You know, because babies have different circadian rhythms or something. Need to build them up, and that takes time, so parents should-”

“Pretty sure that’s just with newborns, Pete,” Tony rolls his eyes, smiling at the teen. “If you wanna nap just have one, kid. Don’t need to justify it to me,”

“You’re the best, Mr Stark,” Peter sighs as he lies down, resting his head on Tony’s leg. He smiles when Tony runs his fingers through his hair, lulling him to sleep.

* * *

When Peter wakes up, there’s a pillow under his head, and a little finger poking at his cheek.

“Leia, sweetheart, let your daddy sleep a bit longer,” A voice says quietly, and the fingers stop poking his face. Peter rolls over, not awake properly. A moment later, there are fingers running through his hair again, and he drifts back off.

* * *

The next time Peter wakes up, he _actually_ wakes up. He’s on the couch in Tony and Pepper’s living room, the lights turned down low and a soft blanket covering him. He sits up slowly, stretching slightly, listening to the voiced coming from the kitchen. A tired smile grows on his face when he hears Leia talking excitedly, telling whoever she is talking to about what she did at play group yesterday. He wraps the blanket around his shoulders, staggering into the kitchen.

“Hi, Daddy!” Leia grins up at Peter from where she is sat upon the countertop when he places a kiss on the top of her head.

“Nice nap, sleeping beauty?” Tony smirks from behind his mug, eyes flickering up to the tangled mess Peter is sure his hair is in.

“Time ‘s’it?” Peter mumbles, leaning his weight against the counter as he opens the fridge, rooting around until he pulls out a bell pepper. Tony grimaces when Peter bites straight into it.

“About half six,” Pepper answers, smiling softly towards Peter. “You looked tired,”

“Daddy needed a nap!” Leia nods seriously as she speaks. “Juice, Mista Stark?” She asks, voice bright and back to normal. Peter smiles at the quick change, taking the blanket from around his own shoulders and wrapping it around hers before bopping her on the nose. He laughs when she scrunches her nose up.

“Pep, have you seen the juice we got?” Tony asks, pulling his head from where it is buried in the cupboard and turning towards his wife with a frown on his face. “It’s not in here,”

“It could be downstairs?” Pepper suggests, beginning to stand up. Peter speaks up before Pepper can continue.

“I’ll go and check,” He just nods when Pepper looks towards him, a question painted on her face. “You finish telling Mr Stark and Miss Potts your story, princess. I’ll be back soon.” He pinches her cheek softly before turning to the adults. “It’s a very good story. Worth the listen,” He smiles as Pepper sits back down and turns expectantly towards Leia, who immediately jumps straight back into the story that Peter interrupted about the ducks she painted.

* * *

Peter hums softly as he makes his way down a few floors to where the other Avengers live. As soon as the doors of the lift open, the loud sound of the Avengers messing around enters his ears and continues when he walks into the kitchen where they are all gathered. He smiles at the sight.

“Hey, Peter!” Natasha is the first one to notice him, looking up from her carton of takeout food. Before Peter can respond, another voice lets out a laugh.

“So _that’s_ why we haven’t seen Stark all day. You’ve been hogging him!” Peter smiles up innocently at Bucky, shrugging his shoulders as he begins to look through their cupboards. “How long are you here for, Pete?”

“A week or so. Aunt May got asked to work across state, she asked Mr Stark if I could crash here until she’s back,”

“What, May doesn’t trust you on your own now? Scared you’re going to be throwing some wild high school parties every night? Bringing all your, what? Three friends around?” Clint bumps his shoulder teasingly as he fills his glass with water.

“Hey!” Peter says indignantly. He snorts when Clint just raises an eyebrow at him. “Nah. Think she’s scared I’ll get lonely,” He sticks his head out of the third cupboard he’s looking through. “Don’t suppose you’ve got any capri suns up here, have you? Miss Potts said you might,”

“Ah, that makes more sense. We were wondering why we got those. Guessing Tony meant to get them sent up to his floor, right?” Steve asks, standing up and picking the two boxes up off the top of the fridge.

“Yeah. Thanks, Mr Rogers,” Peter smiles and takes the boxes from his arms. He turns his head towards the table when he hears someone laugh.

“Aren’t you getting a bit old for capri suns, mate?” Sam teases, ruffling Peter’s hair when he walks past, laughing again when the teen just scowls at him. “What are you, now? Thirteen?”

“Almost eighteen now, Mr Falcon, Sir,” Peter just smiles innocently over his shoulder when he sees Sam narrow his eyes. “And you’re kidding, right? This is the best juice out there!”

“What time are you out of school tomorrow, Pete?” Natasha calls after him as he walks towards the lift. Peter thinks for a moment.

“Not sure. Depends how long MJ keeps us for decathlon. Which depends on how annoying Flash is being,” He shrugs. “Should be back by five though. Half past, at the latest,”

“Okay,” Nat nods. “Well, we’re having a movie night. Tony and Pepper are joining us. You should come along,” Peter hesitates as FRIDAY opens the doors.

“I’ll see what I feel like when I finish my homework,” Peter steps into the lift, waving a hand over his shoulder when the Avengers call out a range of goodbyes.

* * *

Peter has a free period last on a Monday afternoon, so he picks Leia up from her play group early before he goes to decathlon practice. When Leia first started going to play group instead of staying with a babysitter all day, Peter felt bad bringing her to practice, scared that his teammates were going to think she was a distraction. The team were quick to accept her though, and now she spent half of the practice finishing her nap, and the other half sitting between her father and her Uncle Ned, answering some of the questions that MJ sneaks in specifically for Leia. The toddler giggle when she gets questions about her favourite books right and the team applauds her. Even Flash, at the practices that Leia attends, is kind enough not to wind Peter up.

Peter loves being part of the decathlon team, but the practices Leia attends are his favourite.

* * *

When they get back to the tower, Peter and Leia follow their normal routine as much as they can. They spend an hour or so sitting at the kitchen table, Peter doing his homework and Leia colouring in some pictures Peter found of Iron Man. Tony comes in as she finishes colouring the sparkling green high heeled shoes she’s added to his suit. He sits down next to her, talking to her about the additions she’s made to his suit, nodding seriously as she talks. Peter muffles a snort at Tony’s playful scowl when Leia, having been asked about the high heels, says “T’ make you taller, Mista Stark,”. Tony pretends to complain for a few minutes, a smile cracking through when Leia just giggles at his annoyance before he asks her to sign her name on the colouring and pinning it to the fridge. Leia has just about finished colouring in her Spider-man drawing when Peter finishes his homework and asks her what she wants for dinner.

It’s half past eight when Peter joins the other downstairs after bathing Leia and reading her a story, connecting the baby monitor in her room to his phone just in case. Everyone smiles up at him when he enters the room.

“You finish all your homework, honey?” Pepper asks, patting his arm softly as he walks past her.

“Yeah, Miss Potts,” He replies tiredly, using his foot to push Tony’s legs off the couch, grinning when the man groans. He sits down, shuffling around until he’s in a comfortable position, ending up with his legs thrown over Tony’s and his head resting on his shoulder.

“And everything else is okay?” Peter closes his eyes as he waves his phone in his hand. He feels Tony nod against him, and fingers carding through his hair.

He isn’t sure when he fell asleep, but Peter wakes up to his phone buzzing halfway through the second film. He squints from the brightness as he opens his phone, frowning at the image of his sleeping daughter. She’s tossing and thrashing around in her sleep, and even though there’s no sound on the video, he’s almost certain that she’s letting out soft whimpers. He locks his phone and stumbles to his feet, kicking someone who is lying on the floor and nearly falling over.

“You alright, Queens?” Steve asks him, gripping his arm to steady the teenager.

“Yeah. Just gotta…bathroom,” He mumbles out, not looking back as he stumbles across to the lift, jamming the button as he lifts his phone to his ear. Steve is the only one who hears him when he starts talking before being cut off by the doors closing, leaving the super soldier watching the closed doors of the lift, confusion over his face.

“You’re okay, baby. Just a bad-”

* * *

Peter eventually manages to get Leia back to sleep, tucked into his side in his bed.

* * *

The next night, Leia won’t go to sleep. She hasn’t slept all day, refused to nap at play group and now, even when her eyes are drooping as Peter rocks her gently in her arms, she refuses to let herself relax fully.

She eventually nods off in his arms, hours later, while Peter has a nature documentary playing quietly in the background.

“She finally go down?” Pepper asks quietly when she comes into the room. Peter glances at her watch as she walks past. It‘s nearly half past three.

“About ten minutes ago,” Peter sighs, whispering back. “Why’re you still up?”

“Had to drag Tony from the lab, just wanted to check on you,” Peter smiled up at Pepper gratefully. “Try and get some sleep, Peter,” She cards her fingers through his hair a few times and kisses his forehead before she makes her way back towards her and Tony’s bedroom.

It’s not even twenty minutes later when Leia starts whimpering in her sleep. She blinks her eyes open when Peter shushes her, peppering featherlight kisses against her forehead.

“Scary sharks again, princess?” Leia nods, burying her head in his shoulder. Peter doesn’t say anything about the tears he feels soaking his t-shirt, just rocks her gently as he stands up and wraps a blanket around her. “Let’s get you some warm milk, yeah? See if that gets you off, hey?” He makes his way into the kitchen, humming softly into Leia’s hair. He groans softly when he picks up the empty milk bottle out of the fridge. “Leia, you know I love Uncle Tony, but sometimes he’s a right pain in my as...butt. We’ll just have to go downstairs, Boo. Little adventure, then we can sleep in Daddy’s room,”

Peter rocks her gently, still humming her a song as he carries her down to the kitchen a few floors down, trying to be as quiet as he can to not wake the two super soldiers with super hearing and the two spies. He thinks he does a pretty successful job when he makes it back up to Tony’s kitchen, bottle of milk in hand, and no avengers awake.

* * *

“What’s up with you, Barton?” Bucky asks the next morning when Clint is just staring at the wall in the kitchen. “You’ve barely said a word all morning,”

“Have you noticed anything weird about Peter?” He asks immediately, looking down at his mug of now cold coffee.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know how sometimes I sleep in the vents? Well, I was last night, and I woke up when someone came into the kitchen. It was Peter,”

“That’s not really weird, Clint. Kid probably couldn't sleep. He’s allowed to come down here,” Steve points out as he sits down next to Bucky.

“Well. No, I guess not. But he had something in his arms. And then he stole our milk. And he was like, singing or something. Generally being a bit weird,”

“What was he holding?” Clint shrugs one of his shoulders.

“I don’t know. It was dark. It looked like a pile of blankets. _Weird,_ ” He insists. “That’s why I’m asking if anyone else has seen him being weird,”

“Stevie, you said he was being weird last night, right?” Bucky offers, turning towards Steve.

“I didn’t say he was _being_ weird. I said I heard something weird,” The whole room turns to look at Steve, waiting for him to elaborate. “It’s nothing. Just when he was leaving, I heard him on the phone. Called someone ‘baby’ and said something about something bad. The doors closed before I heard anything else,”

“You’re looking too much into things,” Bruce sighs, standing up. “Peter is a bit weird sometimes. He spends too much time with Tony not to be. God knows Tony’s done a lot weirder things when he hasn’t slept in a while,”

Clint shares a look with Steve. Neither of them believe this.

* * *

On Thursday, Peter joins the other avengers for training. Normally, on a Thursday afternoon, Leia spends some time with May while Peter trains. However, with May out of town, and Rhodey _in_ town, Tony volunteers his best friend for babysitting. Not that Rhodey takes much convincing; like everybody else who knows about Leia, he loves spending time with her, although he doesn’t get much of an opportunity with how often he is in the area. So, Leia is with Rhodey, Pepper is in a meeting, Tony is tinkering with Bucky’s arm in the corner of the training room, and Peter is sparring with Natasha and Steve when everything, as Peter knew it would, goes wrong.

Bruce jumps when the alarm starts blaring, red lights flashing through the room.

“What’s going on, FRI?” Tony barely glances up from the metal arm in his grip, not alarmed by the sudden noise.

“Colonel Rhodes has initiated lockdown procedure, Boss,” FRIDAY’s voice is as neutral as it normally is, the AI not capable of feeling the rush of panic that suddenly fills Peter.

“Wh…What?” He asks, his head snapping up towards Tony. The older man drops the screwdriver he is holding, about to start shouting when Rhodey comes into the training room and heads straight towards Peter.

“Peter! Peter. I need you not to panic,” He grips both of Peter’s arms in his hands, holding him still, forcing him to look into his eyes. “Okay. You’re definitely panicking,” Rhodey says, his own voice miles away steady.

“What happened, Rhodey?” Tony asks, coming up to the other two. He places a hand on Peter’s shoulder, hoping to calm him down. “Where is she?”

“I don’t…I don’t know,”

“You don’t know?” Peter’s voice is quiet, a mixture of angry and terrified. “What the _hell_ do you mean you don’t _know_?”

“We were playing hide and seek. I’ve looked all over the floor we were on, I’ve gone through my floor, I’ve gone through their floor. I don’t know where she’s gone. But she’s got to still be in the building, Peter,”

“I swear to God, _Rhodes,_ ” Peter spits the name out, pushing Rhodey away and storming towards the door. “If anything has happened to her, I will skin you alive,” Rhodey swallows as he watches the door slam behind Peter, turning towards Tony, worry filling his eyes.

“It’ll be fine, platypus. She'll be fine,” Tony’s smile is a bit forced, but Rhodey relaxes minutely at the sight anyway. Tony turns towards the others, all of whom are watching the scene in silence, different shades of confusion colouring their faces. “Okay, guys. We’re looking for a small child, Leia. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, last seen wearing-”

“Spider-man pyjamas,” Rhodey cuts in before almost sprinting out of the door.

“And who is-”

“Not important right now, Steve,” Tony growls. “Find the kid, and when you do, let Peter know. Straight away,” He doesn’t wait for a response before he leaves the room, leaving the remaining Avengers looking at each other.

  


It turns out they don’t have to look for very long, only searching for fifteen minutes before FRIDAY turns off the alarms and announces that the lockdown procedure has been disabled. Tony sends a text out telling them that Leia was found in one of the intern labs, and thanks them for their help looking. They make their way up towards the intern labs, all of them stopping in their tracks when they see Peter.

The teenager is sobbing quietly as he hugs a child in his arms, sitting against a wall. His eyes are closed but there are tear tracks running down his pale face, his hands running through the child’s, _Leia’s_ , hair, mumbling into her shoulder between sobs.

“Never again,” He is saying, just loud enough for everyone in the room, only his teammates now that Tony has ushered all the interns out, to hear him. “I was so scared. So scared,”

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Leia replies, voice muffled and breaking. They watch as Tony moves over to the kids, helping Peter stand up and move towards the lift.

“I’ll follow you up, kid,” He sighs as Peter hugs the child closer, eyes still shut and body shaking. The doors close, and Tony sighs, before turning back towards the others.

“What-”

“You’ve got to let him explain,” Tony cuts in immediately. “Come upstairs. He’ll come out when he’s ready,”

They all go up to Tony and Pepper’s floor. Peter and Leia are nowhere to be seen, but Rhodey and Pepper are talking quietly in the kitchen.

“Are you alright, honeybear?” Tony asks, slapping the other man on the shoulder. The others file into the room, taking seats around the table.

“A damn sight better than Pete, that’s for sure,” Pepper places a steaming mug in front of Rhodey, and the man smiles gratefully at her.

“You know he doesn’t blame you. He was just scared,”

They talk quietly between themselves for almost two hours, before they hear Peter coming out of his room. When he comes into the room, nobody mentions how his face is blotchy and his eyes bloodshot. His jumper sleeves are too long and are covering his hands, one of which is gripping a baby monitor.

“How is she, kid?” Tony asks quietly, pulling a bottle of Peter’s favourite obscenely sugary drink out of the fridge and handing it to him.

“Asleep,” Peter mumbles, taking the drink from Tony with a grateful smile and drinking the whole thing in one.

“She’s alright, Peter. Everything’s okay,” Tony pulls Peter in close, letting his kid cry into his chest for as long as he needs. Peter pulls away after a few minutes, apologising for the wet mark he’s left on Tony’s shirt. “No, Peter. You don’t need to apologise.” Pepper comes over to them, taking the empty bottle out of Peter’s hand and replacing it with a full one, which he sips on slower than the last. Tony sighs when Peter’s eyes glance over to the other people filling their kitchen. “They saw you with her. To be honest, I think a few of them were getting suspicious anyway,” Peter sighs and walks and sits in the empty seat next to Bucky, placing a forgiving hand on Rhodey’s elbow and sending him a watery smile on his way past. There’s an awkward silence that fills the room. Peter clears his throat.

“So,”

“So,” Clint is the one to break first, watching Peter carefully. “A kid, huh,” Peter laughs softly.

“Yeah,” He smiles. “Leia,”

“How old is she?” Nat asks him, offering him a small smile.

“She’s uh, three,”

They keep asking questions about Leia, Peter talking with a smile on his face the whole time. It only falters when Bruce asks about the mother. _Tony_ , Peter thinks absently when the man cuts in and stops that line of interrogation with a cough and a sharp look, _is the best dad._

“Go and get some sleep, kid,” He says softly. It’s a testament to just how tired Peter is that he doesn’t even try to deny it. He just smiles up at Tony and pushes himself up, mumbling a quick ‘goodnight’ as he walks out the room. Nobody notices that Peter has left behind the baby monitor until a voice comes through, quiet but still clear.

“Love you, ‘Addy,”

“I love you more, Princess.”


End file.
